The Shorn Pride

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When Kace the lion is dethroned from his place at the head of the pride, he heads for the city of the zebras on the edge of the plains, hoping to slowly take control. Only when he gets there does he realize that the zebras have a way of dealing with predators like him.


Kace grunted as he was forced into the back chambers of the jail.

The lion snapped his tail, growling as he was pushed forward by a large zebra behind him, a sharp spear at his back--the only way the herbivores could hope to equal a predator like himself. As big as the zebra was, Kace was bigger. Taller and broader than the zebra, body corded with muscle and heavy with his strength and mass. He was a pinnacle of lionhood in every way, and each step he took made the doors around him shake just a little. He could have killed the guard if it wasn't for the spear in the zebra's hands, and it was only because the spear was slightly too long that he was contained.

The lion had come to the city after a fight within his pride. He had enjoyed an evening with his lionesses, breeding them as he wanted and drinking the fruits of the wine harvest. When he was drunk, his brother challenged him for his place as the leader of the pride. He had fought, but the drink had made the difference, and his brother had succeeded. Kace sneered at the thought of the other lion, one who could not equal him in strength and size, who had to use guile to succeed. The thought disgusted him, and when the pride accepted him as their leader, he told himself that he no longer wished to have anything to do with the bunch. That, at least, was the lie he repeated to himself as he bitterly crossed the savannah.

He hadn't bothered challenging again. He could make his own pride. Or better, carve out a place amongst those who would never dare challenge him.

That urge had led Kace to the city of the zebras at the edge of the savanna. He had made his way into the city, and after intimidating a few people into getting what he wanted, he had started to draw the attention of the town guard. It wasn't as if the guard could do much--not to a man like him. He ignored their warnings, and instead, he enjoyed the fruits of the city. Those he encountered were universally weak. Small. Pathetic. Their felines especially--maneless things who would never refuse to submit to him. Weak mewlers living under the rules of the herbivores. It was a variety that he'd never seen before. Small and soft, with fluffy pelts and strange patterns. Sad, really, to be kin to such things... but they were easy to control and take as he wished. And he did, often.

It was after one of those possessive breedings in an alley near the pub where he was sleeping that the guards had found him. Spears in their hands, he had been forced back, threatened with death, and eventually guided to the jail where he was now.

Kace felt the prodding of the spear, and while he roared once, he continued to walk. Eventually, the hallway ended in a door that opened onto a larger room. Three other zebras were waiting there, and after a moment, Kace was led to two large, wooden posts set into the ground, almost to his shoulders. Hanging from the tops of the posts were shackles and chains, both of which were snapped around his wrists. A moment later, a second set was worked around his ankles. Only then did the spears lower from their position.

The zebras slowly left the room until only the largest of them--the one who had prodded him down the hallway--remained. He frowned at Kace quietly before setting his spear to the side. "You are new to our city," he said.

Kace growled slightly. "I've been here a short time. Long enough to sample the kinds of men that make their home here... and find them wanting." He smirked at the zebra, and the equine shook his head, sighing slightly.

The zebra sighed slightly. "Typical for your kind," he said. "My name is Cinnier," he said. "And I believe you are called Kace. Correct?"

Kace sneered quietly. He gave a brief incline of his head as an answer, but nothing else.

Cinnier nodded. "You have intimidated our shop owners, stolen from our merchants and farmers. I have been told that you have taken pleasure in those of the city without permission."

"None of your kind," Kace said. "I would never lower myself to breeding an herbivore. But I've taken the ass of more than one of those soft, weak little felines you have roaming the streets."

"You might find that herbivores have many things to offer you," Cinnier said, laughing slightly. "Be that as it may, our laws are clear. You have three options. You can be placed into shackles in our prison for three months. You can be exiled from the city, with the threat of death being your punishment should you return. Or, your mane will be shaven, and your pride reduced with it."

Kace glared at him. Prison was unacceptable, and exile... it might not be as bad as the prison, but it wasn't preferable. Shaving?

"Shaving?" he asked. "What punishment is that?"

Cinnier laughed slightly. "One which we find most effective. We take your outward show of manhood," he said, gesturing to the lion's mane. "In doing so, you experience the ridicule of the public, and this humiliation keeps you in line. I've been told that lions have no problem regrowing their mane, should they be... well... true males."

Kace sneered. His tribe shaved parts of their mane in rituals, after all, and it always returned.

"Fine then," he said. "I'll submit to your... herbivore punishment..." he said, laughing even as he said it. Really, what could they do to one like him other than submit? Mane or not... He would rule these people in a fortnight.

Cinnier nodded. "We are agreed," he said. He walked to the wall of the room, where a cloth hung, and tugged it aside. As he did, a large, polished mirror was revealed, letting Kace see himself as the zebra approached him, undoing his leathers and tugging them free until Kace stood there between the pillars, naked and proud.

Every inch of him was an alpha, especially the thick sheath and heavy nuts between his legs. He was the kind of male that others envied. He looked at Cinnier, expecting to see that expression of awe or shock when he was fully unclothed, only to see a smirk on the zebra's face instead.

Kace growled, but Cinnier just chuckled, picking up a pair of shears and walking toward him. "Prepare for the justice of the herbivores..." he said, raising the shears and bringing them to Kace's mane.

Kace jerked slightly, grunting as the shears clinked together, rasping against each other and cutting loose a lock of his mane. It fell to the floor, and for some reason, he felt compelled to look down at it, to watch it drift to the ground. And when it hit the floor?

There was a flash of purple fire, starting from the base where it had been cut, then rapidly consuming the whole of the discarded lock. The markings on the shears pulsed in the same purple light, and Kace felt a... tightness. It went across his chest and down his back. His eyes rose again, and as he looked in the mirror hanging across from him, he saw his shoulders... tighten. Not quite so broad anymore. And his pelt visibly grew lighter in color.

Kace's eyes went wide. "What is this?" He jerked at the restraints, the chains creaking.

Cinnier kicked the back of his knee, driving him down and forcing him into a half-kneeling position. "Your mane is being sheared as your punishment. And with it... your pride. Weren't you listening?"

Kace struggled against the restraints again, but Cinnier raised the shears, grabbed a handful of his mane, and quickly snapped the shears over and over again, cutting away a large chunk and tossing it to the ground in front of the lion, letting him watch as it burst into the same, purple flames again.

Kace raised his eyes to the mirror once more, watching as the massive musculature of his arms thinned slightly, no longer as thick or impressive. A moment of vertigo overtook him, and as he blinked, he worked to get his feet under himself, pushing himself up. If he could get leverage, he could break free still...

He shoved himself up, and as he did, he looked at Cinnier, baring his fangs, prepared to see the zebra's gaze drop below his... Only to discover that it did not. Kace's eyes went wide, and as they did, Cinnier brought the clippers through a large chunk of his mane against his neck, letting it flutter to the ground.

Again, the purple flames rose, and again, Kace shuddered. It was no longer a strange tightness that washed over him. It was starting to feel like... a warm, pleasant burn. A tingling.

Cinnier stepped away from in front of him, and as he did, Kace could see that he no longer had the massive, herculean build he had sported before. He was still muscled and strong, but it was closer to Cinnier's build.

As Cinnier stepped behind him, he wrapped his arms around Kace from behind, tucking the lion under his chin. "That's a better size, don't you think?"

Kace growled, but the fury was no longer present in his voice. He was upset, but he couldn't muster it into anything actionable. He stared at the mirror, his ears turning slightly. "S-stop..." he said. "I... I will take the month in the cell..."

Cinnier laughed softly. "No, not now," he said. "You've already agreed. Besides..." The zebra raised the clippers and snapped off Kace's chin tuft, the lion shaking slightly as he did. "It's about to start feeling a lot better..."

As the purple flames consumed the little tuft, Kace felt a warmth rolling through him. It started at his toes and flashed up his body. It snaked between his legs, just behind his balls, and up his crack, settling inside of his hole before it faded. "What... what was that?"

Cinnier laughed slightly. "Oh, you felt it already?" he asked, laughing and stepping back to slide a hand down Kace's back. He circled the lion's tail, then pressed into his crack, sliding down between his cheeks to press gently at his hole.

Kace growled, ready to tell Cinnier off properly, only for the shears to rise and cut through a large portion of his mane in the back. As it fell away, Kace felt the warmth--tingling and pleasant now--racing up his legs. It washed over his taint again, leaving a warmth behind this time, and up his crack. Between his cheeks. To his hole. This time, as the warmth sank in, it felt... good. Intense. He gasped softly, and as he did...

Cinnier's finger pushed into him.

Kace immediately roared, pushing forward and away from Cinnier's hand, only for the zebra to follow him easily, having expected that reaction. He leaned out, struggling to get away, shoving his hips forward... but Cinnier stayed with him, keeping his finger lodged into the lion's ass. He smirked at Kace over his shoulder, planting a knee into his lower back to force his hips forward.

Instead of cutting away more of his mane, Cinnier started to move his finger inside the lion, working his body and poking at his insides, prodding for something. He found it in a moment, and Kace jerked slightly, gasping. He closed his eyes tightly. It felt like... someone rubbing and toying with the base of his cock, hidden somewhere inside him. A pressure.

Kace felt a trickling sensation from his sheath, panting quietly as he opened his eyes and looked in the mirror, watching with some horror as his cock slowly slid from his sheath. "S-stop this... I'm no tail raiser..." Kace grunted.

"You will be," Cinnier said, sliding the shears back up. He got them into place before meeting Kace's eyes in the mirror, grinning and slicing through it.

As the lock was consumed, Kace felt the tingling from his toes again, racing up. This time, though, it washed over his hips and around his waist, then slid down, under his tail. As it slowly sunk into his hole again, he felt a wave of intense warmth and pleasure. His cock dripped with excitement, twitching eagerly, and Cinnier slowly lowered his knee, letting the lion get his feet under himself properly again.

Kace staggered, standing there and looking at himself in the mirror, flushing darkly. Was this what those tail raisers he'd abused on the streets felt when he'd mounted them? He frowned slightly, panting as he stood up straight and realized he was a couple of inches shorter than he had been before. He turned his ears, his face burning in humiliation. "I... I've learned my lesson..." he stammered.

Cinnier grinned. "You might have learned one, but I have many more things to teach you..." he said. The zebra raised the trimmers again, cutting through a large piece on the other side of his neck. But instead of guiding him to the mirror, he instead grabbed the back of Kace's head--holding him by the mane he had left--and pushed his gaze down.

Kace swallowed, not sure what he was looking at for a moment, but then, the warmth raced through him. It tingled around his ring for a moment, then slipped down to his sheath. Hot and pleasant, a burst of pleasure ran through his cock, but as it did...

His long, proud leonine length started to recede into him. It twitched a few times as it did, spurting his precum so hard that it felt like an orgasm. A full two inches of his cock vanished, and with each inch, a burst of pleasure that made his knees weak. Kace gasped, panting hard as the warmth faded.

Cinnier's arms slid around him, rubbing his chest slowly and holding him tightly to keep him from collapsing. "Did that feel good?" he whispered, his voice close to Kace's ear.

"...yes..." Kace whispered, practically wheezing it out between breaths.

"It felt good watching your big, thick lion cock get smaller..." Cinnier said. "Go on. You can admit it."

Kace swallowed hard, shaking his head. God. No, he couldn't admit that. He couldn't.

"Do you want to feel that good again?" Cinnier asked.

Kace didn't answer, and that fact alone horrified him. He didn't say 'Yes'--he wouldn't say 'Yes'--but he also couldn't bring himself to say 'No.' It had been... incredible. The best orgasm of his life, and he'd not even cum.

Cinnier smiled and kissed his neck slowly. "You don't have to say anything," he said, sliding the shears down slowly. He buried the blades into the thick tuft of pubic mane just above Kace's cock. "But you will soon..." He closed the shears, sliding them through that thick patch like it was nothing.

As it fell away, Kace could see his cock all the more clearly. He squirmed--eagerly?--as the warmth raced through him again. It felt good, tingling along his thighs and hips, then again settling into his sheath. He bit his lip with anticipation, and when the pleasure struck, he moaned hotly, crying out.

Four sharp, hard spurts of precum, each one feeling like the biggest, most intense orgasm of his life. And as he watched, four more inches of his cock slowly vanished into his sheath. He'd walked into the room at over a foot in length, and now, he was a sliver over six inches.

Cinnier reached down, running a thumb along Kace's length, letting Kace feel how sensitive he was now as the lion squirmed desperately at the zebra's touch.

"I don't think many lionesses are going to be eagerly bending over for you anymore, Kace... Not that you bothered with them often before, huh?" Cinnier smiled at him, guiding his gaze back up to the mirror.

Kace realized instantly that it was him--he could see himself squirming and the reflection matching his movements--but he also couldn't quite believe it. His head was at Cinnier's collarbone now, and the muscled body that had largely mirrored the zebra was decidedly more toned and skinny now. He looked almost like a cheetah in his build.

Cinnier smiled, letting Kace take in his reflection, then slowly rubbed his paw over Kace's head, stroking through the remnants of his mane. "Do you want a treat, Kace?" he asked.

Kace felt... strange. For a moment, he discarded those words, irritated by them. They were demeaning and condescending. A treat? Of course he didn't want a fucking treat.

...but then, something... was different. Those words, the way they irritated him, the way they... demeaned him. His cock twitched slightly, and he huffed, swallowing as he realized that the answer to the question--like the others--was 'Yes.'

He shook his head though, openly defiant as Cinnier laughed. "You think you're a tough nut to crack, Kace, but you're just like all the others..." the zebra said.

Kace frowned. The others? He grunted slightly, but then, Cinnier stepped back. Rather than trimming him again, the zebra removed his shirt, undoing the buttons and tugging it off, then reaching down to his trousers. He undid the leather lacings, then pushed them down his legs and put them aside. Cinnier was standing there in nothing more than a loin cloth as he smiled, reaching out to Kace's cheek and rubbing it slowly.

Kace shuddered slightly, and a moment later, he felt a growl in his chest. Only... only it wasn't quite... right. It was less angry and more... warm. Less aggressive and more... content? His eyes snapped open, and Kace realized that he was purring, and he couldn't... make himself stop.

Cinnier smiled. "Good cat," he said simply, not even calling Kace a lion now. He stepped forward, pressed against the back of Kace's head, and raised his arm. A moment later, Kace was being pushed into his armpit.

Kace's eyes widened as the overwhelming scent of male zebra was crammed into his nostrils. His purring stopped, and he struggled against that grip slightly. He should have been disgusted, but after a few moments, his nostrils flared. And the moment after that, his purring returned. It was... nice. Comforting, somehow.

"Good cat," Cinnier repeated.

Kace could feel the trimmers against his neck, cutting away tiny strands that had been missed, though the intense warm feeling no longer rushed through him so much as simply settled inside him. He felt Cinnier pull away, and he grunted a little, only to feel him return.

This time, as the armpit was pressed into his muzzle, Kace started to lick and clean him, purring as he did. There were more trims, and when Cinnier stepped away, Kace felt... nice and tingly around his nose and muzzle. It felt like he'd gotten into some really great catnip. He laughed as Cinnier stepped aside again, and he could see himself in the mirror again.

He might have been a touch shorter, but it was hard to tell. His neck was bare, but there was still a nice patch on his head and in the middle of his sac. He didn't look that different than he had a few moments before, but he felt different. He felt... warm and happy and high. He laughed softly, squirming and grinning as Cinnier returned and stroked him, drawing more purrs from his chest.

"Alright, Kace. I'm about to do something to you. I'm going to trim that little patch of mane off your balls. But when I do, it'll do something to you..." Cinnier said, smiling and stroking the cat. "It's going to make you sterile. No more cubs."

Kace looked up at Cinnier, the words pushing through the high. His eyes widened slightly.

"...but if you ask me to do it... like a good little kitten... I'll give you a much better reward..." Cinnier promised.

Kace squirmed. The idea of having no more cubs was... worrying? He blinked a few times, and then, he realized that it... wasn't _actually_ that worrying. He had some cubs, right? Yeah, probably... It was hard to remember...

But he had only gotten one reward. And he wanted more of them now.

Kace squirmed slightly, and after a moment, he shifted his legs apart. "Okay..." he said.

Cinnier smiled at him. "Okay, what?"

Kace huffed, almost cutely. "I want you to trim my balls..." he said.

Cinnier smiled at him, and a moment later, he brought the trimmers up. He trimmed the little patch on Kace's sac, but the lion didn't feel anything. He looked down and saw that the fur hadn't burned away like the rest.

Cinnier laughed softly. "I just wanted to see what was more important to you, Kitten..." Cinnier said. "Cubs or being a good boy who gets rewards. And it looks like I know now, don't I?"

Kace squirmed slightly, huffing and turning his ears. "Do I still--" he started, only to stop, his cheeks darkening.

"Do you still... what?" Cinnier asked him.

Kace flushed. He could tell the Cinnier already knew what he'd been about to say. He huffed quietly. "Do I still... get my reward?" he asked.

Cinnier grinned, and a moment later, he reached down to his loincloth. He worked it down his legs, then raised it in his paw, smiling at Kace as he brought it over the lion's nose.

Kace's eyes went wide. That couldn't be his reward! He was good. Why would Cinnier be... be such a... His nostrils flared and his eyes went from wide to lidded, slowly closing as he couldn't help but moan, hot a loud, into the fabric.

Sweat had been good. But musk was better.

Kace moaned openly and hotly, and as he did, Cinnier laughed deeply. A laugh that sent a shiver down Kace's spine. He closed his eyes, and in a few moments, his tongue slipped out and he started to lick at the fabric. Cinnier held it there a little longer for him, then drew it away, making Kace whimper in loss as he watched it tugged away from him.

Cinnier undid the chains from Kace's arms, slowly lowering the lion to his knees, but keeping him restrained. He stroked along Kace's arms and smiled.

"Do you want me to finish trimming your mane, Kace?" Cinnier asked. "Give you a nice, new home here in the city?"

Kace swallowed, and a moment later, he nodded quietly.

Cinnier smiled down at him, pushing Kace's head into his sac. "Breathe deep, then," the stallion said. "I know a brothel that would love to have you..."

Kace flushed. That sounded... good, actually. A brothel. A brothel in a city of stallions, where he could nuzzle and huff and smell all of them to his heart's content. Kace started to just that to Cinnier, breathing in and out eagerly, snorting his nutmusk like it was a drug--and for Kace, it might as well have been. His paw dropped to his cock, stroking himself a few times, but it didn't take him long to realize that he didn't care about his dick anymore. He just... didn't care.

Kace felt the shears, but it didn't matter what was taken from him. Only what he was being given.

Kace didn't know how long had passed, but after a while, the lion felt Cinnier stroking over his head, laughing softly. "There we go, Kace. All done."

Cinnier brought him up to his feet again, the cat whining slightly at being drawn away from his balls, then tugged him tightly against his chest for a moment. As Cinnier removed the cuffs from his ankles, he was able to look at himself in the mirror, his ears turning slightly. He might have reached to the middle of Cinnier's chest now, and the thick muscle that had covered him was a memory. Now, there was just a slight hint of tone to his body, making him look slender and light. His shoulders were more narrow, and his hips were a little wider. Between his legs, his cock glistened with his arousal--just under five inches long and lacking barbs. And beneath it, his proud breeders had been reduced to a tiny, tight little package.

Kace realized that he looked like one of those little bitch cats he'd seen wandering the city. The ones he'd fucked effortlessly. And now... he knew where they came from.

Now, he was one of them.

"Will... will it come back?" Kace asked, flushing as he looked in the mirror.

Cinnier smiled, standing again as he removed the last shackle. "It might. I've seen some boys with cute little bobs... others who actually grew a full mane back..." Cinnier grinned at him. "But you, Kitten? I think you're gonna be like this forever..." he said.

Kace flushed darkly, his tail twitching up at the thought that he was... stuck like this. Stuck... small and weak and... Kace felt his hole clench tightly between his cheeks, and his face darkened.

"Do you like that, Kitten?" Cinnier asked.

Kace nodded slightly. "I... I do..." he stammered.

Cinnier rubbed Kace's cheek, then tugged the feline's gaze to meet his own. He grinned. "I made you like it, Kitten," he said. "I brought you into this room a man. You're walking out of it a bitch. And you like it. Because I made you like it."

Kace swallowed, his tiny little Adam's apple bobbing shyly. "You... you made me like it..."

Cinnier smiled, setting the shears aside. They were no longer necessary, after all. "Do you want to learn what other things you like now?" he asked.

Kace flushed, but he couldn't help but nod. Cinnier was so... big. So strong. He controlled a room just by being in it, and Kace felt more like a fixture in the space than a person himself.

Cinnier smiled at him, stroking Kace's head and rubbing his neck. "Let me show you how an herbivore uses his cock..."

Kace flushed darkly, swallowing as he looked down at Cinnier's groin, at the nuts he'd so eagerly been huffing a few minutes ago and the thick shaft above them that was thickening up steadily. "I feel... tingly... Like when you were shaving me..." Kace's voice was soft. Shy sounding.

Cinnier smiled, running a paw along Kace's arm. "That's what it feels like when you're horny now, Kitten," Cinnier said, smiling and running fingers over Kace's arm. "Do you feel it along your lips? Or under your tail?"

Kace flushed a touch darker, the color showing through his nearly white fur. "T-tail..."

Cinnier nodded, stroking Kace still, turning the lion around and rubbing over his neck, down to his hips. He massaged him slowly, tugging him, moving him where he wanted.

And then, Kace felt it. A thick, fat slab of hot, thick meat between his cheeks, grinding there slowly.

Cinnier ground into Kace's backside, letting the feline feel the heat of that thick, equine shaft against his asshole. "Can you believe it, Kitten... You were as big as me before, weren't you?"

Kace nodded weakly, panting. "I... I think so..." He wasn't sure anymore.

Cinnier laughed behind him, kissing and nibbling at his neck. "Do you want me to be bigger than you used to be?"

Kace flushed, then nodded again. "Y-yes, please..."

Cinnier pressed more firmly at Kace's neck, nibbling him again, working him up. "Then say it. Make it true." Cinnier laughed into his neck. "It's not like anyone else would know. Tell me your truth. The truth you want to be true."

Kace squirmed against Cinnier's throbbing shaft. He closed his eyes tightly, and as he spoke, his cock twitched eagerly. "You're so much bigger than I used to be..." he stammered. "Your cock is so huge... You're... m-more of a man than I ever was..."

Cinnier pulsed against him harder, and Kace realized that the zebra had liked that. And what's more, Kace liked it as well. His whole body felt like it was throbbing, tingling and matching the rhythm of the zebra's heartbeat through his cock.

Kace whimpered slightly, gritting his teeth for a moment as a hunger washed over his loins and through his hole. "Please, Cinnier... I'm ready to be a bitch now... please..."

Cinnier slowly pulled back, adjusting his cock, bringing the wide, flat head against Kace's asshole where the feline could feel the zebra's flare twitching and spurting precum against his ring. The sensation was new and utterly perfect to his mind. "You always were, Kace."

Cinnier's cock pushed forward, and Kace realized just how flexible his hole was now. He opened, his body stretching and accommodating that fat, throbbing zebra dick. He gripped the post he'd been chained to, his eyes rolling back as the reduced lion shook and mewled, feeling every inch slowly sliding through him. His tail lashed a few times before Cinnier's paw wrapped around it, tugging it up and out of the way.

As Cinnier's dick slid into him, Kace looked down, seeing his stomach bulging out just slightly from the mass inside his body, and beneath that bulge, his tiny little bitch dick twitched over and over again. His cock was taken from him. His virility. And he didn't care... He just didn't care. He closed his eyes, and he felt a spurt of precum shoot from his cock, bringing a burst of pleasure with it. With that burst, he flexed, squeezing his hole, and Cinnier grunted behind him.

"You're a fucking natural," Cinnier muttered, his breathing hard and heavy. He pulled back, then thrust into Kace, and everything in the little bitch's world changed.

The memories of days-long orgies with half a dozen lionesses, all aching for the breeding that he happily gave them, were suddenly a curiosity rather than a triumph. The pride of pinning a would-be rival to the ground and asserting his dominance with his cock became a fantasy where the roles were reversed. The idea of retaking his pride, casting his brother aside as either a corpse or a eunuch, became a pointless, silly little fantasy.

Why would anyone want to be a stud, he thought, when being a bitch felt so fucking good?

Cinnier picked up the pace as whatever tiny bits of the lion Kace had been before was fucked away, dicked down into nothing more than little oddities. Parts of a past that no longer matter.

Kace arched, whimpered, and started to drip more and more precum as it was worked out of him by the zebra's fat length. Each drip felt so good. When he looked down, he realized it wasn't his precum.

It was his cum.

His load was being fucked out of him by Cinnier's cock. His cheeks burned, but he loved it. He loved every drip of it.

Kace started begging a moment later. "F-fuck it outta me... Please, Cinnier, fuck it outta me..."

Cinnier obliged, picking up the pace and thrusting into the feline harder, faster--hips slapping ass and huge, equine nuts rising up to batter Kace's little sac from behind. The lion moaned, and a few minutes later, he was dripping again, a second load of his cum plopping to the floor as Cinnier finally shoved in, hard and deep, and Kace felt it.

A burning warmth slowly flooded Kace's insides, working through them. Thick and deep and hot.

Cinnier stepped back, pulling his cock out of Kace's oversensitive insides. His length was glistening with his load, dripping onto the floor as he smiled at Kace, breathing hard. "You did good."

Kace smiled up at him, a touch stupidly, and laughed. "Thanks."

"Forget the brothels..." Cinnier said. "I have a friend that I want to introduce you to. I think you'll get along well, and I know he's been looking for someone to work for him recently. You'd have to start off small, errands and the like... But if you work hard, I think you'll find yourself in both his workshop and his bed. Would you like that?"

Kace shifted slightly. The promise of... work? Of being regularly bedded? It was a strange thing to even consider for a predator, but really... he wasn't much of a predator anymore, was he?

Kace nodded, and Cinnier extended his paw, pulling him up to his feet and smiling. "And if it doesn't work out? You can always spend some time keeping my bunk warm for me..."

*****

Cinnier's friend had been nice. A few years older than Cinnier, a watchmaker, but just a big, strong, and handsome. They met at a small pub, and Cinnier had Kace sit on the same side as the other zebra. Rather shyly, Kace had placed his paw on the zebra's leg, and when the other hadn't pushed him away, he'd dared to go a little further.

"A little forward, isn't he?" the zebra asked, smiling slightly across the table at Cinnier.

Cinnier chuckled, shrugging, and the zebra turned to look at Kace properly. "How big were you, before you were shaved?" he asked.

"Not as big as you," Kace replied.

When he felt the zebra's cock throbbing slightly, he knew he'd at least be giving a trial run, and as the months progressed, it was clear that Kace was a good learner. The next thing he knew, he was both apprenticed to him and sharing his bed, just as Cinnier had suggested. It was strange to him, in a way. Not getting bored with a single partner like he had back in the pride. Not wanting to switch from female to female over and over. As a bitch, he was happy with just one man. A man who loved him and who loved making him feel small and weak. A man he thought of as his husband, who also thought of him as a mare.

He also met the rest of the felines in the city. It was a strange situation, though. He had, after all, roughed up and fucked more than a few of them. It was only when he realized that all of the other felines had been in the exact same situation as him that things grew easier. Even with how he'd acted, they welcomed Kace happily. He quickly followed their custom, changing the pronunciation of his name from a hard Kace to a softer Kaycee. A simple change, but it felt so much... lighter. Happier, even. Now, Kace had a different kind of pride--the shorn pride--and he found his place in it quickly.

And that was that. He had a job. A man. A community. This was how the herbivores lived, and it was good. He was... Well. He was happy. The price had been high, but as time passed, he realized that he would pay it again in a heartbeat.

Almost two years after he'd been shaved, he was walking down the street, and he saw a group of guards surrounding a big, bulky lion. The lion roared, but the guards kept their spears trained on him, herding him where they wanted him to go. Kace watched curiously, feeling a sense of familiarity, but it was only later that he realized it was his brother, the one he'd fought with. The one who'd defeated him when he lost control of his pride.

Kace laughed softly. If his brother was here, Kace knew the other had also been unseated. He shook his head, smiling. If he'd come here... it was for the same reasons Kace did. The rise and fall and loss. That was the way of the pride.

But here, life was different. Here, he was happy.

And soon, his brother would join him. Forgiveness could come then. For now? He just wanted to get home and talk to his husband. The zebra had been asking him recently how he'd feel about a herd, and now... Kace found the idea suddenly appealing.